The Sacramento Kings traded 2025 first-round pick Nique Clifford to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two second-round picks Sunday. ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the deal. The return quickly drew ridicule aimed at the Kings, with many questioning Sacramento’s judgment.

Clifford cost Sacramento a top-16-protected 2027 San Antonio Spurs first-rounder, which the Kings sent to the Thunder for the No. 24 pick in the 2025 draft in Scott Perry’s first move as general manager. The 24-year-old brought back a 2028 Utah Jazz second-rounder and a 2030 Minnesota Timberwolves second-rounder.

NBA World Reacts to Oklahoma City Thunder Trading For Sacramento Kings Guard

Clifford had been pushed to the edge of head coach Doug Christie’s rotation in recent games, even with injuries to players ahead of him. He played eight minutes combined in Sacramento’s last two games, three on Nov. 4 and five on Nov. 6.

According to ESPN, both the team and the second-year wing wanted a fresh start elsewhere. Sacramento, off to a 1-8 start that has it 14th in the Western Conference, added two draft assets in the process.

Oklahoma City had held the No. 24 pick through an earlier deal with the LA Clippers, so the trade returned Clifford to the team that owned his draft slot.

The deal makes Clifford part of two trades between the Kings and Thunder in a little more than a year, and Bleacher Report’s Molly Morrison had a suggestion for the next time the two teams talk.

“Sam Presti shouldn’t be allowed to make deals with the Kings due to the problematic intelligence gap,” she wrote.

ESPN’s Anthony Slater laid out both deals in plain terms, ending his summary with Sunday’s turn.

“He never caught on in Sacramento. They flip him back to the Thunder for two seconds,” he wrote.

Others skipped the recap and went straight to the verdict. A content creator addressed the franchise directly: “What are we doing Sacramento.”

One fan saw the deal as part of a trend with Oklahoma City, writing, “Why do teams just continue to gift OKC young talent … The Kings deserve to stay irrelevant.”

Injuries sent the Thunder looking for help on the wing. The Thunder are 8-2 and first in the Western Conference on a tiebreaker, but starters Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace both got hurt in the same late-October home game against the LA Clippers.

Williams suffered a broken left fibula and a dislocated left ankle, and Wallace a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Both will be sidelined for several months and may miss the season.

The Thunder had signed veteran wing Dalen Terry on Nov. 4 as the injuries piled up, but waived him in the corresponding move when the Clifford trade became official. Clifford, who carries a $3.2 million salary this season and $3.4 million next, is their latest move.

Not all of the reaction dwelled on Sacramento’s decision. Some of it looked ahead to Clifford’s next stop, on a team missing two starters. Basketball analyst Jon Metler answered Charania’s report with a prediction: “Watch how fast his career turns around.”

One fan took the same view of the move, writing, “Can’t wait to see how OKC turns him into a productive role player from one day to another.”

Another fan handed the credit to Oklahoma City, writing, “Sam Presti does it again.”

The former Colorado State wing averaged nearly 14 points, five rebounds and four assists across March and April of his rookie season.

The deal cleared a roster spot in Sacramento, and how the Kings fill it is the next decision for Perry’s front office.